


The Watcher

by QueenRiley



Category: Power Rangers Samurai
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-13
Updated: 2011-05-13
Packaged: 2017-10-19 09:07:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/199197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenRiley/pseuds/QueenRiley
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mike has a secret.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Watcher

  
Mike wasn't going to say anything, not to them or anybody else. He could be discreet. It wasn't for him to comment on anyway. He knew that would surprise people, that he could keep his mouth shut when needed. Part of him liked it that way, the low expectations other people had of him. It was easier to keep a secret if nobody thought you'd be entrusted with them in the first place.

He never missed a day, not since that first morning he'd stumbled upon them. Nobody needed to know he rose at the same time every morning. Nobody needed to know what he saw. It was their private business and it was his little secret. He would do just about anything to keep it that way, to keep them safe. It was becoming a ritual, really.

In the quiet still of the early morning, just as the first rays of light from the sun were starting to fight against the darkness of the night, Mike would open the door to his bedroom just a crack. He'd watch the door across the hall slide open and a dark figure creep out. He'd watch a brief kiss goodbye, a silent wish for the night to not be over already, and a lingering promise to do it all over again. The door would slide shut, the figure would slide silently across the floor and slip into the room next to his.

He knew it would be accepted without judgment in the Shiba house, but Ji would put a stop to it immediately regardless. For the good of the team, he’d say. Mike didn't buy that. So he wouldn't tell. Partly to protect them, sure, but also because blabbing would mean the end of the secret. It was a sweet ritual, something that warmed his heart and gave him hope for some love in this world, and he didn't want it to stop.

And so he was standing in the shadow of his door, a crack just wide enough to see through. The horizon was just starting to turn grey outside his window. The door across the hall slid open. The figure crept. Mike smiled.

"Hello, Mike." He nearly jumped out of his skin. All the while he'd been watching, he hadn't expected the man in the other room to have been watching him back. The figure sliding across the floor hadn't expected it either and contorted almost comically from the shock. Mike gave him credit. He still didn't make a sound.

"Hello, Jayden," he responded. Jayden's smile was shy and nervous. Mike just bowed his head in respect as Jayden slid his door shut. The dark figure twisted his head quickly, looking from Jayden's door to Mike. They locked eyes and Mike did everything he could, short of speaking and ruining the moment, to convey his gratitude at being part of it, the joy he felt at the love they shared, and the responsibility he gladly bore in keeping their secret. The figure stood up straight and walked with a steady, confident gait to his own door, the door next to Mike's. Mike began to slide his closed when he heard a quiet voice, calmer and softer than he would have expected from his next door neighbor.

"Thanks, Mike." Antonio whispered, closing his door behind him.  



End file.
